Mr Blair's Classroom

Every year at my school, the staff participates in a lottery. Not the Shirley Jackson variety, the other kind: the kind where everyone pitches in a few dollars and dreams a little. And, every year someone asks, "When we win big how long will you all continue teaching?" Most staff count off their scheduled years until retirement and do a little math. I'm a little different. I always reply, "I don't know how long I'd work, but I'd probably be back Monday morning."  Do I teach to make a living and pay the bills? Certainly. But I teach for other reasons too. I teach because doing so brings me purpose; it's a potent antidote to my existential angst. When my colleagues and I aren't chatting about potential lottery winnings, we chat about anything and everything. Lately, we've been discussing the rise of artificial intelligence and its implications on education and every other aspect of society. Some worry a little; I worry a lot. The other day,...

Social media has morphed into a breeding ground for misinformation and polarization. If you don't believe me, just check out the comment section of any news article. No platform has been exempt from this transformation: not Facebook, not Twitter, not YouTube. A key culprit in this culture of misinformation is the internet meme due to how quickly they can be shared person to person, and platform to platform.  Like all mediums, memes can communicate a seemingly infinite number of messages and sentiments. They can feature everything from "Grumpy Cat" jokes to logical fallacy fueled racist rhetoric. Unfortunately, not everyone sticks to "Grumpy Cat"! Too many people delve into the murky world of fallacious reasoning and malicious political commentary. As a teacher, I felt compelled to be a force for change in this arena.  My primary intention behind this project wa s for students to develop a keen awareness regarding logical fallacies and their various manif...

How do you overcome your fear of public speaking? How do you react to a subpar test score? How do you find peace in these Covid-19 times? Such questions occupy our students' thinking. Unchecked, they may turn into stress and anxiety. Where can our students find answers? Where can they find an antidote for that anguish? How about Ancient Greece? My "Becoming Stoic: An Inquiry Project" had students inquire into stoicism, an Ancient Greek philosophy. After brainstorming personal challenges and learning a variety of stoic concepts, students used both to address the following essential question: Does stoicism have significance for 21 st century students and their challenges? SO WHY STOICISM? Founded 2300 years ago in Ancient Greece, stoicism promotes virtue and mental fortitude; it's a philosophy for anyone and anytime. Thinking stoically helps people overcome life's challenges, big and small: from dealing with a personal loss to failing a math test, and everything in...